Netflix`s US users finally get Facebook-sharing tool

Washington: Video-rental business Netflix`s US subscribers will now be able to share what they watched on Facebook.

The Internet video service turned on a new social sharing features for U.S. users on Wednesday.

The sharing tool is rolling out 18 months after Netflix Inc. introduced the feature to its international subscribers, Fox News reports.

The expansion exposes the feature to a much wider audience because Netflix has 27 million Internet video subscribers in the U.S. versus 6 million customers in more than 50 other countries and territories.

Netflix withheld the sharing tool in the US to avoid breaking a 1988 law that banned the disclosure of video rental records without a customer`s written consent, the report said.

After several years of lobbying, the Lost Gatos, Calif., company persuaded Congress to revise the law so that subscribers could choose to activate a video-sharing feature.

According to the report, investors apparently believe the new feature will increase Netflix`s popularity and, by extension, its profits.